Hard-bitten, gently corrupt, and with a new marijuana habit to cope with the death of his son, Royal Thai Police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep investigates the ritual slaying of an American film director in this atmospheric thriller from the author of Bangkok 8. Even so, his mind is on the teachings of Tietsin, an exiled Tibetan lama based in Kathmandu who has become his guru, and who has $40 million in heroin to sell.

"Sonchai Jitpleecheep has leapfrogged the field, vaulting from cult favorite to just possibly the most compelling crime-fiction hero in the genre. His fourth adventure, even more than its predecessors, is overstuffed with a dizzying array of multifaceted storylines, all of which exude both the moral ambiguity and the cognitive dissonance that have become this series' hallmarks.... [John] Burdett juggles the various plots with great dexterity ... [in this] whirlwind of a novel."—Booklist (starred review)